I want to step down as President but remain on the board. Has anyone done this?

Hi all - we took over our HOA from the builder a few months back and since we decided on board roles the same night of our one and only annual meeting, I put up my hand and volunteered to be President. In my mind, I have managed projects for 25 years so this would be a great new project, but what I didn't consider was home immersed I am in a paying full-time job vs a full-time job that never yields any monetary reward. I also expected the other 4 board members to be as eager as myself and take ownership, dig in their heels and be go-getters. What I have found is that 2 are basically silent non-doers and one is as eager as myself, and the Treasurer is finally stepping up, still, 2 are non-participating.

All this said, no one else on the board wants to hire a management company to help us get everything officially setup, operating, reporting, sharing information, etc and I cannot carry the burden to be responsible for all of it SO as the President, I do not want to resign, however I do not want to remain as President, but would like to serve in another capacity. Has anyone successfully made a move such as this? Please share insight! I was thinking about dropping a hint about this tomorrow in our HOA meeting but not an official resignation.

Thank you in advance!
MT

Thank you for the insight MelissaP1. In my case it was a matter of expectations vs reality, I believe that if you 'volunteer' for a position, no matter what it is, you will actually "do" something, be of value, be a contributor. In one of our early meetings when I delegated a task to our MAL, she stated "I don't want to do anything, I said that when I signed up", it really threw me off. CEOs get paid for their time, ambition, energy, and leadership. I am expected to be the deliverer of all things, and have people like our MAL never offer her time, but always offer up suggestions on how I can do better or why we shouldn't do something (like hire a mgmt company). I did get bids for a management company and presented them, but the board doesn't want to spend the money.

The reality in my case is my own issue, I don't set myself up for failure and I see it coming in the future due to lack of planning, ability, knowledge, team cohesion, culturally diverse thinking and so I want to lower my contribution, or expectation thereof, to better align with what is now in my lap. I want to contribute, but I am one person and I can't do it all. We are a new HOA and I don't have the knowledge on proper protocols to ensure everything is done correctly, timely, and legally. That is where I thought the other 4 members would step up.

I appreciate the reply as I have been thinking on this subject for weeks. Knowing all of the things we are trying to implement and crack down on and thinking to myself, just exactly who will be responsible for ensuring the follow-through occurs, let alone "who" will own each of the items that must be tracked.

If we were a HOA of 5-10 units, I would not have the issues I am facing. Rather, we are 67 units, and 2 of the volunteers don't even live in the neighborhood (which we didn't know at the time of role assignment) so those 2 people are not present to actively contribute, and the 3 of us that do live here are 2 doers and 1 do-less. Am I venting? Maybe but I genuinely want to remain a part of the board, but with lesser responsibility. I will respect someone all day that can say that, as opposed to taking on the responsibility and underdelivering on their promises and expectations.

I am still looking for a way to stay in the game and be a contributor. I am happy to SUPPORT the Spiderman that steps up!

Yes, Michele, you can certainly resign as a board officer and stay on the board based on the circumstances you describe. Your remaining officers can, and should, step forward to embrace the self-management philosophy that you can no longer manage directly OR be willing to split the responsibilities across the board of directors (as it's the board that wants to self-manage).

I would not not drop any hints. I would address the concerns as a business matter because it is a business operations discussion from the perspective of the HOA organization. You can't worry about the HOA and you certainly are under no requirement to allow HOA volunteerism to consume a large part of your days and identity. My opinion on this separates me from others offering advice on this forum so this is subjective.

Election to the board of directors is different than being selected as the President once the election is completed.